Elastomeric articles made from natural or synthetic rubber are used in many different applications including being used as surgeon gloves, examination gloves, prophylactics, catheters, balloons, tubing, and the like. Elastomeric materials have been useful in the production of such articles because of their physical properties. For example, the materials not only can be stretched, but are also capable of substantially returning to their original shape when released.
Traditionally, elastomeric articles have been manufactured through the use of a mold or former in the shape of the final article to be produced. For example, when manufacturing a glove, a hand-shaped mold or former is first dipped in a coagulant slurry. After the slurry has dried on the former, the former is dipped in a rubber-type material, such as a natural or synthetic latex. The former may be dipped several times into the rubber material in order to build up a layer on the former of the desired thickness. The formed elastomeric article is then cured, cooled and stripped from the mold.
Multi-step dipping processes as described above can produce elastomeric articles, such as gloves, that are elastic, are form-fitting, have tactile sensitivity, and are chemically resistant. Unfortunately, however, the above described multi-step dipping process is both labor and energy intensive. Further, only certain types of rubber materials are amenable to the dipping process.
In an alternative embodiment, instead of producing gloves through a dipping process, gloves can also be produced by heat sealing together two layers of film. Forming a glove through a heat sealing process can be relatively less expensive. Unfortunately, however, problems have been experienced in the past in being able to produce heat sealed gloves that have elastic properties that provide tactile sensitivity. In this regard, the gloves typically do not have form-fitting properties, are typically made from a thicker film than dipped products, and are oversized in relation to a hand resulting in a poor fit.
In view of the above, improvements are needed in producing form-fitting gloves with excellent tactile sensitivity in a more cost-effective manner.